Category: travel

where my mouth has taken me…

travel: crossing back over the puddle…

Lyon on Christmas Night I’ve been playing hooky. Jumping the Puddle, I recently struck out on my ugliest streak of gluttony to date. In fourteen days I pocketed 30 Michelin stars, cleared well over a hundred plates of food, consumed enough cheese to keep half of France employed, and sampled so many macarons that the […]

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travel: crossing back over the puddle…

Lyon on Christmas Night I’ve been playing hooky. Jumping the Puddle, I recently struck out on my ugliest streak of gluttony to date. In fourteen days I pocketed 30 Michelin stars, cleared well over a hundred plates of food, consumed enough cheese to keep half of France employed, and sampled so many macarons that the […]

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review: stuck between mouse ears and thrill rides…

Porcini Mushroom Pappardelle Primo, Orlando, Florida What’s in Orlando? I’m stuck – car-less – at a conference on the (in)famous International Drive – the ark of chain restaurants: two of each kind. Where. To. Eat? Managing to escape for a couple of meals on my own, I took refuge at the Grand Lakes Resort. It’s […]

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review: stuck between mouse ears and thrill rides…

Porcini Mushroom Pappardelle Primo, Orlando, Florida What’s in Orlando? I’m stuck – car-less – at a conference on the (in)famous International Drive – the ark of chain restaurants: two of each kind. Where. To. Eat? Managing to escape for a couple of meals on my own, I took refuge at the Grand Lakes Resort. It’s […]

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review: you say pastilla…

Zahav Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Ziseh kind, there is no such thing as Israeli food,” retorted my Jersey ma, a born-and-raised-on-the-LES-right-around-the-corner-from Russ and Daughters Jew. I wouldn’t dare argue the anthropology of Israeli food with her. I suppose she is right: Israeli food, by and large, is a hodge-podge of borrowed cuisines. Michael Solomonov, former chef of […]

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review: you say pastilla…

Zahav Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Ziseh kind, there is no such thing as Israeli food,” retorted my Jersey ma, a born-and-raised-on-the-LES-right-around-the-corner-from Russ and Daughters Jew. I wouldn’t dare argue the anthropology of Israeli food with her. I suppose she is right: Israeli food, by and large, is a hodge-podge of borrowed cuisines. Michael Solomonov, former chef of […]

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review: a stretch of turf…

Tinto Philadelphia, Pennsylvania If you listened carefully, through the din and drone emanating from the corner of 20th and Sansom Streets in Philadelphia on a Saturday night in July, you would have heard a rather tired yawn. That was me. It is strange how consensus can sometimes run counter-intuitively to one’s gut. After an informal […]

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review: a stretch of turf…

Tinto Philadelphia, Pennsylvania If you listened carefully, through the din and drone emanating from the corner of 20th and Sansom Streets in Philadelphia on a Saturday night in July, you would have heard a rather tired yawn. That was me. It is strange how consensus can sometimes run counter-intuitively to one’s gut. After an informal […]

Continue

review: subtle innovation…

Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania You know you’re going to have a good time at a restaurant when you’re greeted by a half-ton bronze pig. At the whiff of good food, my name becomes Achilles and a fine selection of cheeses, especially, goes straight for my heels. That’s how Jose Garces got me in a gluttonous bind […]

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review: subtle innovation…

Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania You know you’re going to have a good time at a restaurant when you’re greeted by a half-ton bronze pig. At the whiff of good food, my name becomes Achilles and a fine selection of cheeses, especially, goes straight for my heels. That’s how Jose Garces got me in a gluttonous bind […]

Continue

review: that sugar bomb…

Ring Ring Le Bec Fin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Four years ago, I couldn’t hear my food the music was so loud. Stiff, stilted, out-dated, and aloof, the food and service on my first visit to Georges Perrier’s vaunted Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia had me vowing never to return. But I’m a firm believer in second, […]

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review: that sugar bomb…

Ring Ring Le Bec Fin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Four years ago, I couldn’t hear my food the music was so loud. Stiff, stilted, out-dated, and aloof, the food and service on my first visit to Georges Perrier’s vaunted Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia had me vowing never to return. But I’m a firm believer in second, […]

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pork, pork, pretzel…

Tommy DiNic’s Reading Terminal Market Philadelphia, Pennsylvania If you had only one meal in Philadelphia, what would you eat? A Philly cheesesteak, right? Maybe, but only if you went for Capogiro gelato afterward. I’ve done the Geno’s and Pat’s comparison and a few other notable cheesesteak joints in town. They’re good, but nothing as transcendent […]

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pork, pork, pretzel…

Tommy DiNic’s Reading Terminal Market Philadelphia, Pennsylvania If you had only one meal in Philadelphia, what would you eat? A Philly cheesesteak, right? Maybe, but only if you went for Capogiro gelato afterward. I’ve done the Geno’s and Pat’s comparison and a few other notable cheesesteak joints in town. They’re good, but nothing as transcendent […]

Continue

travel: brotherly love…

Escalivada and White Sangria Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I’m behind. I recently took a trip to Philadelphia in search of the perfect plate of pasta. I found it. But I also found a lot of other great things, like the perfect roast pork sandwich, and the perfect cheese and chocolate pairing, and many perfect scoops of […]

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travel: brotherly love…

Escalivada and White Sangria Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I’m behind. I recently took a trip to Philadelphia in search of the perfect plate of pasta. I found it. But I also found a lot of other great things, like the perfect roast pork sandwich, and the perfect cheese and chocolate pairing, and many perfect scoops of […]

Continue

review: an expensive fairytale…

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek Dallas, Texas John Tesar had some big shoes to fill when he took the position of executive chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek following Dean Fearing’s departure. I’m not sure he’s grown into them (or found his own pair), quite yet. But I think he’s on his way. The […]

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review: an expensive fairytale…

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek Dallas, Texas John Tesar had some big shoes to fill when he took the position of executive chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek following Dean Fearing’s departure. I’m not sure he’s grown into them (or found his own pair), quite yet. But I think he’s on his way. The […]

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review: hot tamale…

Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana Ft. Worth, Texas “Go,” they urged. Everyone I talked to about my trip to Dallas told me to go to Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexciana. It would be worth the detour to Fort Worth. A slight mishap from outdated directions from a major online orienteering guide aside (they need to do a […]

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review: hot tamale…

Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana Ft. Worth, Texas “Go,” they urged. Everyone I talked to about my trip to Dallas told me to go to Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexciana. It would be worth the detour to Fort Worth. A slight mishap from outdated directions from a major online orienteering guide aside (they need to do a […]

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